Marshall University Athletics
Women's Hoops To Wrap Up Regular Season At Home
2/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2009
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Thundering Herd women's basketball team will look to continue a two-game win streak as it wraps up the regular season with home games against Houston and Rice.
A Thursday evening game at 7 p.m .against Houston starts the weekend before the Owls come to town on Saturday at 3 p.m. That game will mark Senior Day as the lone senior on the team, Casey Baker, will be honored prior to the game.
Marshall stopped a six-game skid with a pair of road wins last weekend. On Friday, the Herd grabbed a 67-50 win at UAB. Chantelle Handy scored 14 points as MU held UAB to just 25% shooting. Handy was one of five double digit scorers against the Blazers.
On Sunday, Tynikki Crook led the way as Marshall topped Memphis by a 70-61 margin. Crook tied a career best with 14 rebounds while scoring 22 points, just two short of her career high.
Alyssa Hammond tallied 14 points against the Tigers while Handy scored 13, her third consecutive game in double digits.
One of the main factors in the turnaround for the Herd has been its offense. After shooting 41.1% of its shots during the six-game losing streak, the team rebounded to hit 50% of its shots in the last two games. In those wins, the offense has averaged 10.3 PPG more than the six losses.
Rebounding has also been another strong points for the Herd. Marshall has outrebounded its opponents in 11 out of its 14 conference games and tied UTEP in another contests. The only opponent to have an edge on the boards against MU has been East Carolina, who did that in both meetings by an average of 10.5 RPG. In its other 12 C-USA games, Marshall has outrebounded the opposition by an average of 6.9 per game.
Houston comes to Huntington with a record of 17-9 overall and 9-5 in conference play. The Cougars are 5-2 in their last seven contests, but 1-2 recently, having lost to Tulsa, 59-55, last time out.
The Cougars feature the league's third leading scorer in Courtney Taylor, who averages 16.5 points per game. In the last game against Tulsa, Taylor scored 18 points and recorded nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Marshall holds a 3-1 lead against Houston in the series, winning all three regular season contests. Houston's win came in the 2007 C-USA Tournament in the form of a 71-58 victory. Last year, the Herd rode Casey Baker's career-high 28 points to a 78-74 win at Hoffheinz Pavilion.
Rice begins the weekend at 7-20 and 2-12 in the conference. After starting off league play 0-10, the Owls have won two of three games to improve its mark. Prior to a loss to SMU on Sunday, Rice topped Tulsa and Tulane in its previous two games. D'Frantz Smart and Maudess Fulton are the Owl's top scorers, averaging 11.1 and 10.9 PPG, respectively. Smart ranks in the top five in C-USA in assists, dishing out a team-high 109 on the season.
Both weekend contests will take place at the Cam Henderson Center. Saturday's contest will be part of a doubleheader with the men's team, who will take on UCF at 7 p.m.
The 2009 Conference USA Women's Basketball Championship is set to get underway on March 5-8 in New Orleans. For the past 13 years the league has awarded the championship trophy to eight different outstanding teams. Fans may purchase their tickets in advance by going through their local institution or Tulane Athletics at tulanegreenwave.com or 504.861.WAVE (9283). General admission All Session tickets are $50 for adults and $40 for youth, while Single Session prices are $10 for adults and $7 for youth.
